Hyundai and Kia, surpassing Samsung Electronics in profits, rank second in electric vehicle sales in the United States. "Dim in China, rising globally."

Since the release of the earnings report on January 25th, the stock prices of Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors have risen by 22.7% and 28.5% respectively. Behind the sharp rise in stock prices is the strong performance of Hyundai and Kia.

The latest financial data shows that Hyundai and Kia ranked first and second in terms of operating profit among listed companies in South Korea in 2023. For the past 14 years, Samsung Electronics had been the top company in terms of operating profit in South Korea.

According to media analysis, the outstanding performance of Hyundai and Kia is mainly due to a significant increase in the total export volume of vehicles to North America, with electric vehicle sales growing by 60%. Hyundai Motor Group (which currently operates both Hyundai and Kia) surpassed General Motors and Ford last year to become the second-largest electric vehicle seller in the United States, second only to Tesla.

Record High Operating Profit for Hyundai and Kia

Specifically, Hyundai Motor achieved an annual operating profit of KRW 150 trillion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 54%. The annual revenue also reached KRW 162.7 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 14.4%, both setting new records. This is also the first time that Hyundai Motor's annual operating profit has exceeded KRW 100 trillion, and the operating profit margin has climbed to 9.3%.

Looking at Kia Motors, its operating profit in 2023 increased by 60.5% year-on-year to KRW 11.6 trillion, and the annual revenue increased by 15% year-on-year to KRW 99.8 trillion, both setting new records. The operating profit margin was 11.6%, marking the first time that Kia achieved double-digit growth in both operating profit and profit margin.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics, which has been the top company in terms of operating profit in South Korea for many years, experienced a sharp decline in performance last year. The financial data shows that Samsung Electronics' final confirmed operating profit for the 2023 fiscal year was KRW 6.567 trillion, a year-on-year decrease of 84.86%. This is the first time that Samsung Electronics' annual operating profit has fallen below KRW 100 trillion in 15 years since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Strong Sales in the U.S., Weak Performance in China

The record-breaking performance of Hyundai and Kia is attributed to steady growth in sales in major markets such as the United States, as well as growth in sales of new energy and high-value-added vehicle models.

Last year, Hyundai and Kia achieved a historic high in sales in the United States, selling a total of over 1.6 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 12.1%. Among them, electric vehicle sales reached 85,474 units, a year-on-year increase of 60%. General Motors delivered 75,883 electric vehicles last year, slightly higher than Ford, which delivered 72,608 electric vehicles throughout the year.

Tesla sold 654,800 vehicles in the United States in the past year, making Hyundai Motor Group the second-largest electric vehicle seller in the United States, second only to Tesla. Last year, Hyundai's global sales were approximately 4.2 million vehicles, with domestic sales in South Korea reaching 762,077 vehicles and overseas sales reaching 3.4 million vehicles, representing a YoY growth of 6.9%. Kia set a record with global sales of 3.1 million vehicles, including 563,660 vehicles sold domestically in South Korea and 2.5 million vehicles sold overseas.

It is worth mentioning that while Hyundai and Kia have been rising globally, their situation in China over the past year can only be described as dismal. Beijing Hyundai had to sell its factories at a 50% discount, but no one took over. Meanwhile, Kia executives repeatedly criticized Chinese brands in public, damaging their brand image, and the company has been incurring losses for years, already in a state of insolvency.

According to the latest data, these two major Korean automakers have finally seen a rebound in sales in China, showing some improvement. However, the long-term outlook is still not optimistic.

As for this year's business plan, Hyundai and Kia aim to sell over 7.4 million vehicles domestically and internationally, representing a 1.9% growth compared to 2023. In terms of overseas sales, Hyundai and Kia have set sales targets of 3.5 million and 2.7 million vehicles respectively, accounting for 83.3% of the total sales.